The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-09-28
OPIUM SLAVES.
A DOCTOR TALKS ABOUT THE
BANEFUL HABIT.
Victims Of Opium Not Sane-Efect
of the Drug upon q Persons
Physique-How Opium
is Taken.

My experience has taught me TO oc-
lieve that no person who is addicted to
the opium habit is sane. do not mean
to say that when a person begins to use
the drug he is out of his mind, but after
he has become addicted to the use of it,
in other words, when he has become a
chronic opium eater, l consider him in
sane. I have had considerable expert
encc with opium eaters and, as a rule, l
do not like to have them in an insane
asylum.
In curing the habit I would show the
habitue his usual dose of opium, and let
him take it, but day by day I would re-
duce the fluid with water but always
give the same sized dose. A person who
has been addicted to the opium habit
fourteen months is regarded as a chronic
case. Three grains of opium daily is
large dose, but ten grains is enormous.
The effect of the drug on O chronic
op:um-catc is merely Quicting; he is IN
a state of half-drunkcnness, whether he
takes large or small doses. But, in an
acute case, the effects of the drug are
very pleasant indeed. The victim secs
visions of lovelincss and grandeur i'm
possible to describe, and catches glimpscs
of heavenly state Of existence When
he has become chronic user Of the drug
and his system demands it he, to a ccr-
tain extent, ceases to have these visions
and rapturous dreams unless he takes un-
usually heavy doses-enough to produce
immediate sleep. Under such conditions
he will usually have pleasant dreams,
though sometimes he passes through
horrible scenes Of torture.
The effect cf the drug on the physique
of person varies somewhat. Sometimes
he will become drcadfuliy emaciated, but
if the appetite keeps good he will not de-
crease in weight. There is always, how
ever, a peculiar color about an opium
eaters face, and by that he can be known; !;
the complexion assumes the color OF old
brass, having a peculiar death.like hue,
but i. is seldom that the digestion is i'm
paired.
Opium affects the spinal cord and the
brain principally. The nerve power OF
the opium cater is very much lessened
without the opium, and i. is very much
increased with the drug until the end
comes. The death Of the opium eater is
not marked By any particular scenes of
horror. I have seen several opium eaters
die very pleasant death, and do not
know tDa; ever saw very bad death
among such patients.
The causes which lead persons into the
opium habit are so numerous that no one
would attempt to define all of them.
The habit is often brought on in young
medical students who resort to the stimu-
liant through overstra;ning themselves in
study. The troubles brought about in
the rush of business account for others
using the drug. Excessive liquor drink
ing Sometimes leads to the habit.
l am now attending prominent citl-
zen of New York city, man of wealth,
who has been very heavy drinker. He
resorted to drink to drown his sorrow
over the death of beautiful daughter. I
took him for the opium habit. He took
chloral and morphine combined. He
would take enough chloral and morphine
in day to kill fifteen men. I reduced
his allowance ia almost nothing. He got
so that he took very small dose every
day, but, in a short time, he relapsed into
his old habits, became as bad as he ever
was, and the consequence is he will soon
die.
There are three methods by which the
drug is taken, VIZ: internall y, by hy-
podermic injection and by absorption,
that is by rubbing the drug on the skin:
My experience is that about one-third of
the opium eaters take it in paregoric
form, while two thirds take it in the gum.
Very few people take tincture of
opium. Taking the drug by means of a
pill is a favorite method. It can be kept
more secretly about the person in that
form than in any other. Paregoric has to
be carried in a bottle, and it has strong
smell very similar to anise.seed. The
smell is quickly noticed, while, if per-
son chews opium, you have to get very
close to him to smell it.-Dr. E. ~ Car-
penter, in Epoch.